Railway



(No Model.)

W. SGHROEDER.

v GAE COUPLING.

Patented July 21,1891.

:3,, "(Z/dun? cSEZroecZer,

" 0 13 4 I @WWW UNITED STATES PATENT OF ICE.

WILLIAM SCIIRCEDER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE CHICAGORAIIAVAY APPLIANCE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 456,526, dated July 21,1891.

Application filed March 1'7, 1891- Serial No. 385,341. (No model.)

T wlwm 1 may n rn: describedniay, as already stated, he used in Be itknown that I, IVILLIAM SOHROEDER, connection with any desired form ofcoupler, a citizen of the United States, residingat Chias a link andpin. I then make a rod or leeago, Cook county, Illinois, have invented aver C of suitable dimensions. This rod is 55 5 new and usefulImprovement in Couplers, of preferably bent substantially at rightangles which the following is aspecification. at one end to form ahandle 0, and is also As is well known, it is exceedingly dangerbent toform an arm c at the other end, prefous to enter between railroad-carsfor the purerably at right angles both to the main porpose of couplingthem, and many means have tion of the rod and the handle 0, as shown. 60to been devised for doing away with the neces- The arm 0 is connected bya chain C orother sity of so doing-as, for instance, rods or suitablemeans with the pin I). The lever is chains have been connected to thecouplingalso flattened for a portion of its length, as pin and carriedor extended to a point where shown at c", for the purpose to behereinafthey could be operated with safety and withter described. 0 5out entering between the cars. To form a support for the lever andattach The object of my invention is to provide a it to the car, Iprovide brackets D and E. device for operating the coupler from the(Shown more particularlyin Figs. l-and 5, reside of the car which shallbe capable of adspectively.) The bracket D, which is attached justmentin different positions, and which to the car as shown in Figs. 1 and 3,has a 70 shall be attached to the car so as to yield substantiallyvertical slot (Z and a substanwhen struck in any manner, therebypreventtially horizontal slot (7., which intersect or ing its breaking.open into each other, as shown, forming In the drawingsl have shown myinvention practically one slot of irregular outline, the applied to avertical hook-coupler; but it will slot (1 being preferably rounded, asshown, to 7 5 be evident that it may be used equally as afford room inwhich to turn the lever. The well in connection with a link and pin orany bracket E, which is preferably attached to the other form ofcoupler, as found necessary or car in a substantially horizontalposition, as desirable. shown in Figs. 1 and 2, is pmvided with a Theinvention consists in the features and slot e, which slants downward atany desired 30 details of construction hereinafter described angle, asforty-five degrees. These two brackand claimed. ets are attached to theend of the carat suit- In the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of ablepoints to support the lever. In the drawa portion of the end of a carand coupler with ings the bracket 1) engages with the lever my inventionapplied thereto; Fig. 2 a plan near the handle 0 and the bracketE nearthe 5 and Fig. 3 an end view of the parts shown in arm 0; but thisarrangeinentlnay be changed Fig. 1; Figs. 4 and 5, perspective views ofthe as desired. It is necessary, however, that the supporting-brackets,and Fig. (3 a similar bracket D should engage with the flattened view ofa portion of the operating rod or lever. portion 0 of the lever. When inthe normal The car-body A is made in any of the usual position shown inthe drawings, the lever 0 forms, and inasmuch as it forms" no part ofrests in the lower end of the slote and in the my invention requires nofurther description. vertical slot 61, being lockedin this position Thecoupler I3 is made in any usual form, by the engagement of this latterslot with the and has a rotatinghookband alocking-pinb. flattenedportion 0. hen it is desired to This pin, when in the position shown inthe raise the pin I) to release the rotating hook I), 5 5 drawings,engages with the tail of the rotatthe lever is raised in the slotd andrevolveda ing hook and locks the same, but may be quarter-turn towardthe left, Fig. 3. This raised to disengage it from the hook and allowbrings the flattened portion 0' into the slotcl, the latter to swingopen'when the cars are unwhereby it is held until it is desired to lowercoupled. All this is, however, well known, the pin, when the lever isturned back again, mo 50 and in itself, like the car, forms no part ofthe bringing the portion conce more into the slot invention, since theparts hereinafter to be cl. It willthus be seen that the lever islockedV or held by the slots of the bracket D in either position, with the pinZ2 raised or lowered, as may be desired, and this holding of the leveris an important feature of my invention.

In use the lever is constantly liable to be struck by the end of the adjanent car, and if it were rigidly attached to the car would be apttobreak but with the present construction the leverwill yield and slideup in the slot 6, thereby avoiding any breaking or injury. When thelever is released, it Willby its own Weight slide down in the slot andresume its normal position, and this great ad vantage is attained by myimprovement Without in any Way interfering with its proper Working orlessening its efficiency. Where the'deviceis used with.

an ordinary link-and-pin coupling the arm 0' is of course to beconnect-ed to the pin, and similarly this arm is to be connected to theoperating part of any coupling with which it is used.

I claim- 1. An operating-lever connected to the coupler and supported insuitable brackets, one of such brackets having an inclined slot, wherebywhen the lever is struck in any manner it moves up in such slot and whenreleased returns by gravity to its normal position, substantially asdescribed.

crating-lever connected therewith and supported in brackets, one of suchbrackets being provided with suitable slots, whereby the lever may beturned and held in any desired position, substantially as described.

8. The combination of a coupler and an opcrating-lever connected theretoand supported insuitable brackets, one of such brackets having slotsengaging with a flattened portion of the lever to hold the same indifferent positions, and the other bracket having an inclined slot inwhich the lever moves when struck, whereby any breaking of the lever isavoided, substantially as described.

4:. The combination of a coupler, an operating-lever connected theretoand having a flattened portion 0, a bracket D, having slots 01 d,engaging With the flattened portion 0'', and a bracket E, having aninclined slot e, in which the lever moves, whereby the lever may belocked in different positions and yield when struck to avoid breaking,substantially as described.

XVILLIAM SOHROEDER.

Witnesses:

B. B. HIOKMAN, E. B. THOMPSON.

